DMD metalsmith

???  !!!!!!!!  ? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  l.o.v.e.

These hot hot hoops were just on the front page of Etsy.  OH my MY.  I can’t even HANDLE how much I want to buy these.  I am so inspired by this dude’s designs.   I love his entire shop.  I want to apprentice with him!  The uniqueness, the precision, the detail—I want ALL of it!

marry me?  (like in a totally-platonic-fellow-jewelry-designer kind of way)?

In other news, Darling Monday has arrived and I’m feeling okay about it.  Always waiting, always there, always ready for us to take her on and embrace her, dear friend.  We could push her away or choose to embrace her.  Today, I’d like to walk with her, hand in hand.  I hope you all grab your own Mondays by the hands and skip with them right on over to Tuesday.

xo! ~b

***Song of the Moment:  Soil, Soil, by Tegan and Sara***

Coffee.  Lady Bug.  Salvaged wood.  Record store.  Astral Weeks.  Rega Turntable.  Surprise-a-friend Sunday.  Saint Cupcake.

Dakota and the Humane Society.  Swedish meatballs.  New sheets, high thread count, mm.  Pictures in toy bins.  Colanders.  Frozen yogurt.  TJs and free coffee.  Good talks and reading.  Scrabble.

Silence.

I feel like I could live in these perfect creations by the inimitable Betsy Walton.   The colors and their combinations astound me.  I own a favorite shirt by the artist which was a gift from W (I think he purchased it at Crafty Wonderland…I’ll be there again for the spring show).  I didn’t put it all together until I started seeing her work more and more around town… and finally I realized she is in some of the sweet stores I also sell in.  It’s official:

I am smitten.  (Plus, she has a great first name…)

so, like me,  take this color and get through your Mondays!   ~betsy

***Song of the Moment:  Sweet Thing, by Van Morrison***

I wish I could say my own version of the lovebird earrings was born out of this scrumdiddilyumpscious lady image…

Don’t you just want to be friends with her??

Happy dappy Monday to all you lovelies!  I plan on having a productive (and Olympic) week; this Oregon sunshine has really had a bolstering affect on me!

(don’t forget to enter the Giveaway!…you have one week!!)

***Song of the Moment:  Sun is King, by Laura Veirs***

Over the past few months, I’ve had the privilege of doing some decorating consulting and design work for Georgetown University’s Foot & Ankle Center.  During my last visit, we decided that the space was really aching for color pops.  I rounded up some of my favorite paints and put together a collection that I thought would go beautifully against the dark blue walls in the space.

One thing I love about DC and Virginia (my home state) is the warmth and color of the landscape.  There’s a reason they say it’s for lovers– you pretty much can’t beat the Blue Ridge Mountains…  Oh, and DC’s abundant cherry blossoms.  I wanted the paintings to have a cohesiveness while remaining independent.

I loved the idea of cherry blossoms as the through line.  So the cherry blossom was the impetus (along with the right kind of blues), then I kinda went nuts from there.  The top painting is also the bottom painting, flipped around.  It’s the most abstract; it’s my favorite.

This one is huge, 30 x 40 inches.  I painted it horizontally, as seen at the top.  When finished, I played with which angle was my favorite and why.  This vertical version reminds me of a calm creek or stream (also very Virginia) and the sun going down on a summer’s day, with fish jumping and fireflies waving and micro eco-systems thriving.  It reminds me of a place I want to be.

I really should do this more often.

***Song of the Moment: A Sunday Smile, by Beirut***

The treasury is the collection of items you see everyday on the front page of Etsy.  The treasuries are handpicked by other Etsy members.  It always feels good when someone wants to put you in their treasury.  The treasury is sort of a wild subculture of the handmade world—people become addicted and obsessed with having the best treasuries.  This morning I had a sweet message from Impulse Art that she had chosen one of my pieces for her “Old World Feel” Treasury.  I immediately fell in love with the mood she created here.  I am drawn to Greece, the brown/gray texture, history, and cracks of this treasury.  I had to share it with you all.

The bottom middle necklace belongs in my collection.

(btw, you can create a drinking game with this post:  for every time I use the word “treasury,” take a swig!)

***Song of the Moment: Dirt On Your New Shoes, by Bishop Allen***

(If you like this, go explore Monfort on Etsy.  Her work is monstrously lovely.)

I felt like Of Montreal existed right there in the colorful mountainside—it was a world I immediately wanted to be in.  And so I am there, today.  It helps the hands move faster and the mind slow down.

***Song of the Moment: Gallery Piece, by Of Montreal***